Der Psychopath

This film is not good. The acting is awful, the pacing is awful, it's only redeeming quality is Burt's toupee as the only reason I kept watching was to see if it would actually jump off his head. Don't get me wrong, I love Burt Reynolds but I can only assume his star was waning by the time this came along. The main problem I have with this is that I have no idea what it is. Thriller? Horror? Comedy? Absolutely no clue. The only thing I do know is that it's not good whatever it's supposed to be. I'm just sad to see Mr Reynolds doing his best in this Turkey.

I've been a fan of the late Burt Reynolds since seeing his hilarious 'Smokey And The Bandit' at a drivie-in as a kid in the 70's. Out of curiosity, I watched 'The Maddening' on YouTube recently and regretted it. This is not the Burt I grew up with or care to see. All actors do whatever roles they want but he was more of a personality and played each part the same way utilizing his charming personality. This 'southern gothic' thriller (horror?) film displays none of his good ole boy persona, and instead, he plays a violent rapist holding a young mother and her daughter hostage at his isolated property along with his mentally ill wife played by Angie Dickinson. I loved seeing Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller) who is fine as the captive of the deranged couple (Burt & Angie) until her husband (miraculously) stumbles across the property while our searching for his missing wife and child. Low budget, mediocre and derivative, I wish I had watched 'Hooper' again instead!

Burt Reynolds as a psycho... definitely had me interested when I came across this one on late- night cable TV. I should have known that like most of everything Burt Reynoolds has made in the last 20 years or so, this one is very high on camp and pretty low on quality. I was even more surprised to see that it was directed by Danny Huston, who has since gone on to do some excellent acting work in some very acclaimed films. I guess The Maddening was a low point for both him and Burt... check it out only if you dare. Kind of reminded me of the B-movie classic The Stepfather, except this one is even lower in production value.

I decided to watch "The Maddening" because I was intrigued by the movie's promise of showcasing Burt Reynolds in a very atypical role, that being a bad guy. But I was sorely let down by the end results. Except for some good photography and lighting for what was a low budget production, the movie goes wrong in just about every way you can think of. The story has nothing really new - you'll be able to more or less predict what will happen next before it actually happens on the screen, save for some REALLY BIG continuity gaffs. As for Reynolds (who wears an especially bad hairpiece), although he has shown he can act in other movies, here he just seems to be badly miscast; at every moment he comes across as good ol' boy Burt Reynolds instead of someone who is scary and disturbed. One last thing: While the movie got slapped with an "R" rating, it really doesn't earn that harsh rating. If you ask me, the movie is more deserving of a PG-13 rating.

How low is Burt Reynolds willing to stoop, during this late phase of his career? Apparently pretty low indeed, judging from this tedious thriller that was barely released theatrically. Reynolds seems miscast in his change-of-pace villainous role, and the snail-like pacing and poor production values remove most of the "entertainment value" this movie might had possessed. (*1/2)